Support the Bango Wind Farm

After many years of preparation, the Bango Wind Farm is applying for development approval. The NSW Dept of Planning and Environment will assess the amendment and they will take into account the views of the community. Your voice is critical in this process!

Can you put together a submission and lodge it with the Department by Monday 28 November 2016?

The opportunity

Political uncertainty has held back the creation of thousands of wind energy jobs in NSW. With a bipartisan federal Renewable Energy Target now in place it is more likely that the Bango Wind Farm will proceed to construction.

The Bango wind farm is being developed by CWP, who recently developed and managed the construction of the Taralga Wind Farm. CWP is currently constructing the Sapphire Wind Farm between Glen Innes and Inverell in the New England region of NSW.

If approved the Bango Wind Farm proposal will consist of up to 122 turbines in three clusters between Boorowa, Yass and Rye Park. It will provide Community Enhancement Funds of at least $300,000 to the local community every year!

Already the Southern Tablelands region is a standout performer for NSW with six operating wind farms. Adding Bango to this portfolio will ensure the region’s place as the centre of NSW’s clean energy industry.

Submission tips

Writing your submission

Describe your own interest in wind farms/clean energy and why supporting the project is important for you.

If you're from the local area, let the department know you're a local supporter.

Choose the main reasons you want to see the wind farm go ahead - environmental, farming, jobs, etc. Use any of the information below that is important to you.

Lodging your submission

Go to the NSW Planning Department website. You can read the stuff at the top and points 1 & 2, but the submission part begins at point 3, Fill in the Online Submission Form.

Enter your name and address details.

Enter your Submission in the Submission box. Either use cut and paste or upload a pdf version.

Be sure to choose "I support it" in the next box, Your view on the application

INFORMATION ABOUT THE BANGO WIND FARM PROJECT

Clean energy

The wind farm is expected to generate 1,025 Gigawatt hours (GWh) per annum for the 25 year life-span of the wind farm. Bango wind farm will contribute about 3% of the renewable energy generation required to meet Australia’s renewable energy target (RET). It will assist NSW in achieving it’s commitment to meeting this state’s share of the RET.

The Bango Wind Farm will produce enough electricity to power about 140,000 homes.

The carbon footprint of the wind farm will be paid back in about 9 months.

The strong and consistent wind in the region where the Bango Wind Farm is proposed makes this wind farm an efficient use of agricultural land. A solar farm would need to cover about 700 ha’s with solar panels to produce the same amount of energy as this project. By contrast, this project impacts less than 100 ha’s of the total project site.

Farming

Local farmers will receive millions of dollars in total every year for the next 25 years, either in lease payments or through neighbour agreements. This will dramatically increase the financial resilience of the local farming economy and help farmers manage periods of drought and fickle commodity prices.

There are 15 local farmers who will host turbines and 6 neighbouring farmers have signed up to be partners in the project.

The construction of the wind farm and associated infrastructure will have negligible impact on continued grazing activities. There will be comprehensive traffic management plans put in place to minimise disruption to local traffic on public roads, particularly during the construction phase.

Local economic benefits

The Bango Wind Farm project is a huge project that has the capacity to inject millions of dollars into the local economy for decades. It has the potential to add $180 million of economic value to the Australian economy.

The wind farm will assist local employment, especially during the construction phase. 300 jobs will be generated during this phase. There will be a significant number of long-term permanent jobs on the completion of construction. These jobs will be in maintenance of the turbines and the associated infrastructure.

More people working in the community improves the future of local schools and sporting teams and means more money being spent in the community – which stimulates business and creates jobs.

There will be a direct injection of about $4 million per year to the local community through payments to landholders, permanent staff, local councils, and the community. About $300,000 of this will be paid directly to community organisations through the legislated Community Enhancement Fund contribution.

Local businesses will supply goods and services including accommodation, engineering, earthworks services, fencing and landscaping.

There is a contractors register on the project web-site where local contractors, service providers and businesses can register their interest in working on the project.

Local Amenity

The developer is required to make good on any road damage incurred through the construction period. Experience from other wind farms in Australia confirms that local council roads are significantly improved by the presence of a wind farm.

Significant additional traffic will only occur during the construction period with operation and maintenance adding little additional traffic to local roads. These traffic movements will be overseen by a comprehensive traffic management plan that is developed in conjunction with local councils and the NSW Government.

Ridges and valleys are a feature of the landscape in this region. Only parts of the wind farm will be visible to a viewer at any one time.

The planning for this project has required additional flora and fauna surveys to be completed, adding to understanding of the natural value of the area.

Water

Unlike coal-burning power plants, wind farms use no water in their operation, leaving local rivers and creeks untouched.

On-site water usage during construction will be mitigated by minimising vegetation clearance, retaining all contaminated stormwater and process wastewater on-site and locating stockpiles away from drainage lines and in areas least susceptible to wind erosion.